PSV would do well to retain Walter Benítez for the coming years, Ronald Waterreus emphasizes. The former goalkeeper of PSV, Rangers FC and the Dutch national team, among others, emphasizes that there are few better, affordable options on the transfer market for the number one of the Eredivisie. Benitez made his debut for Argentina earlier this week at the age of 31 against Costa Rica.
Benítez earned the nickname ‘the Wall’ while employed at OGC Nice. In 167 league matches for the Ligue 1 club, he kept 52 clean sheets and conceded 190 goals. The figures at PSV are even better: he had a clean sheet in no fewer than 25 of the 56 Eredivisie matches and he only conceded 48 goals. Benítez’s share in PSV’s performance is underexposed, according to Peter Bosz. “We are constantly talking about our team and not much about him. The fact that we don’t talk about him much this season is a compliment to the team,” the PSV coach emphasizes.
“He is of course the goalkeeper who has only conceded thirteen goals,” Bosz said in conversation The Telegraph on the number of goals conceded by Benítez in 26 league matches this season. “He is a big part of that. It is a team effort, because because we put a lot of pressure, we give away few opportunities. But he has to be there for the opportunities we give away.”
Waterreus believes Benítez is reaching a high level, especially after the winter break. “I already thought he was having a good season, but after the winter break I think he is really, really good. (…) It’s great that he is now also an international player. That says something if you have that status in a major football country like Argentina.” The question is whether Benítez is in his last months at PSV. The goalkeeper, who came over on a free transfer from OGC Nice in mid-2022, only has a contract until next summer.
According to journalist Jeroen Kapteijns, an initial exploratory discussion has been held between PSV and the Argentinian’s management about a possible contract extension. Water Giant would know. “If I were PSV, I would do everything I could to keep him. Go find a better one. There are, but you have to pay a lot for them. I think it would be very good for PSV if they manage to sign Benitez for longer.”
According to the algorithm of FootballTransfers Benítez’s Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) is currently 6.1 million euros. If Benítez and PSV cannot reach an agreement and a transfer in the summer is unavoidable, the Eindhoven club may be able to pull off a similar trick as in the summer of 2022. VfL Wolfsburg announced in September of last year that Koen Casteels will not terminate his expiring contract. going to extend. The Belgian, who turns 32 in June, has been associated with the German club since 2015 and has now made 271 official matches, 351 goals conceded and 90 clean sheets.
